Thursday, December 18, 2008

Randy Ricardo is a typical suburb teenager. He parents are divorced. He is out of shape and could stand to loose a few pounds. He plays too many video games and talks nothing but trash all over the internet. He has several very close friends, none of whom he had ever seen on anything but a webcam. Randy was unremarkable in every way... until he inadvertently got involved with the video game company WacCo.

Randy was chosen along with several of his online "friends" to preview a new video game at the WacCo company headquarters. Once dropped off by his estranged father who only sees him on weekends Randy and the others quickly realized that WacCo is really a front organization for an alien race known as the Jid'vvad. The aliens, who all resembled 7 foot tall yellow preying mantises, kidnapped the teenagers in order to create a new battalion of hybrid super soldiers. Mistaking their video game skills for virtual combat training the Jid'vvad deduced that replacing their doughy underdeveloped bodies with state of the art android war shells would result in a master race of unstoppable hybrid soldiers. The Jid'vvad was half right.

Once the childrens' brains were placed inside their new bodies the teenagers, led by Randy, turned on their Jid'vvad jailers and made their escape. In retaliation the surviving aliens activated a mind controlling failsafe installed within their rebellious hybrid soldiers. One by one the children succumbed to the failsafe until only Randy alone was left unaffected.

With no where left to run Randy returned to the safety and normalcy of this Mother's home and pretend none of it happened. Randy went to school and was shocked to find his brainwashed internet buddies there as well. Now Randy must juggle a normal school life with covert battles against his former alien controlled friends all the while keeping from his mother that he is actually a super powered half-alien insect warrior with the ability to gather and compact inorganic matter into super dense makeshift boulders only he is strong enough to lift and throw.

Dispite the odds Randy is quickly gaining a reputation in the superhero community. his unorthodox powers and origin along with his habit of trash talking his enemies has labeled him:

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

Just in time for the holidays. I am releasing several Frost park related items for sale over at the Feed>>Tacoma shops. If that kind of thing interests you I am the featured shop there today and now is a perfect time to set up an order. Payment is through Paypal. I'll ship, but you are footing the shipping bill. I ain't Amazon.

Monday, December 15, 2008

On Wednesday, December 10th, 2008, in the backroom of the Mandolin Café in Tacoma, Washington, four cartoonists wearing burgundy colored fezzes gathered and signed the charter of The Cartoonist’s League of Absurd Washingtonians, otherwise known as The CLAW.

And so the great book says: exiled by the masses into the bowls of the internet, the lone warrior, Electric Elliot, approached Tacoma’s own benevolent white knight of cartooning, RR Anderson. Referencing an existing notion to start such an absurdly ridiculous group, the two blew the horns of shadow, calling upon the greatest cartoonists the South Sound had to offer. Within moments (days to you mere mortals) two had become four, now joined by the cartoonist from the eighth dimension, Mark Monlux and the ever-present threat to humanity STOWE (me! cue girlish squeal of delight). With their unruly powers combined, the band sought to establish themselves so that all marks of disinnovation and anti-creativity (or antivity) were isolated and abused to destruction while harnessing humanity’s last breaths to welcome in our future robot overloads. “More than anything else I think we were all looking for an excuse just to sit down with other artists and have fun doodling,” said Mark Monlux. “Oh, that and wear fez and have a secret handshake.”

This not-so-secret secret society does have at its heart a nobler goal then a bunch of man-apes chanting about zombies and robots in its semi-cryptic rituals. The CLAW Scholarship will be granted to art students of merit who have shown and interest in the mystic study of sequential art and dragon slaying.

The CLAW meets twice a month on the second and fourth Wednesday of the month. To find the current venue details, or information on becoming a member, visit http://www.cartoonistsleague.org or pay the ultimate price!

Johnny Tesla was a brilliant, young scientific mind. He was the great, great grandson of Nikolai Tesla, the discredited innovator of the victorian era. Johnny sought to reestablish the Tesla name by becoming a pioneer of theoretical engineering. His company, Marvelous Innovations, was poised to become a leader in nanotechnology research and alternative energy solutions. The future seemed limitless for the brash, young genius... until he ran afoul of his partner's greedy ambitions.

Vernon Wells was Marvelous Innovations financial backer. He was a shrewd man and a genius in his own right. Twenty five years Johnny's senior Vernon staunchly disapproved of the philanthropic direction his intrepid partner envisioned for their company. Secretly Vernon began selling the company's patents to Trainer Defense Solutions, the world's leading arms manufacturer. When Johnny discovered Vernon's deception the two men finally had it out with each other. The resulting argument threatened to tear the upstart company in two.

Determined to maintain his lucrative defense contracts with Wallace Trainer Vernon plotted to ensure that Johnny Tesla would no longer interfere in his plans. Vernon hired a mercenary cult figure known only as the Turncoat to attack Johnny in his private lab. Surprised by the Turncoat and his thugs while working on a radical new nanotechnology process Johnny was beaten severely and left for dead. The Turncoat then stole hundreds of irreplaceable files and set Johnny's home ablaze with him in it.

The resulting inferno activated the experimental nanotech. The microscopic machines quickly began to replicate, exploding free from their container and covering Johnny's battered and broken body.

Hours later Johnny was rescued from under the ruined remains of his home without a scratch on him. The nanotechnology had saved Johnny's life, but at a terrible price. Designed to assimilate and convert any machinery the microscopic machines that now pervaded Johnny's body reacted violently to any contact with modern technology. The very thing that was keeping Johnny alive forced him to avoid any device created within the past 100 years.

Dedicated to stop Vernon from destroying his legacy and desperate for a solution to his nanotechnology dilemma Johnny sought out the long sealed lab of his great, great grandfather Nikolai. Once there Johnny used his ingenuity and his ancestor's long forgotten genius to construct a containment suit for himself using Victorian Era engineering, technology safe from the ravenous appetite of his bodies new nanotech protectors.

Johnny Tesla entered his great, great grandfather's laboratory a wounded and desperate man. He left as:

The Miraculous Brass Marvel was suggested by Josh if Ironman was repackaged as a Steampunk hero.

Monday, December 8, 2008

As a young boy Bryce Trainer was kidnapped by a crazed underworld figure known as only as the terrible Turncoat. His father and renowned industrialist and weapons developer, Wallace Trainer, spent years and a considerable fortune searching for his only son. Heartbroken and without any leading in their son's disappearance the Trainers eventually gave up any hope of seeing Bryce alive again.

Abandoned to his fate young Bryce joined many other children taken by the Turncoat and raised underneath the streets. Deep within the bowels of the city Bryce and his adopted brothers and sisters were brutalized and brainwashed into a army of thieves and street thugs. After many years a teenage Bryce became the Turncoat's number one apprentice.

In a final test of loyalty the Turncoat sent Bryce and his charges to rob a mansion and kill everyone within it. Only after his thieves breached the walls did Bryce realize that he had been led back into his childhood home and that his would be targets were, in fact, his own long forgotten parents. unable to convince his fellow thieves to abandon their mission Bryce turned on them in order to save his relatives. His skill and determination held off his former teammates until the terrible Turncoat himself entered the fray.

A terrible battle ensued. Bryce fought to protect his parents like a man possessed. In the end the Turncoat proved to much for his young protégé. Beaten Bryce was left for dead in the husk of his family's estate.

Bryce was found by his parent's loyal manservant Arturo. He survived but his parents were dead. Recognized as the soul heir of his family's considerable fortune and granted access to his father's business enterprises Bryce is reborn into another life. Now Bryce Trainer is a long lost media miracle. He must face legal hurtles and public scrutiny. He must adapt to survive in teh alien world of high society and instant celebrity. he is no longer welcome upon the nameless streets of his adolescence.

But Bryce Trainer has a score to settle. Knowing he can no longer pursue the Turncoat himself he adopts a new persona to enact his vendetta. Armed with his father's bleeding edge technology and wrapped in the trappings of the urban underworld Bryce Trainer has become:

The Homeless Man was suggested by John and is a repackaging of Batman if that hero had a transient/hobo motif.

This is going to be a weird one and super comic book geek so bare with me...

So I was looking at some artwork from Dave Gibbons' awesome concept art book for The Watchmen called Watching the Watchmen (excellent Christmas idea... hint) and it reminded me that the Watchmen were originally supposed to be Charlton Comics characters (Peacemaker, Blue Beetle, The Question, Etc.) but were changed to unique characters when the character rights were deemed to expensive (or some other b.s.).

Comics have done this character concept repackaging forever. I can't tell you how many Batman analogs are out there. So... here is the assignment: You provide me an existing superHERO (no villains) and a basic theme I will repackage it to fit with a new name, picture and costume. Got me? Good... start submitting your hero ideas. If I get enough of them I'll make a team.

Friday, November 21, 2008

GM invites his friends to play in a Superhero RPGknowing his friends don't like Superhero RPGs

Its okay says the GM... we will play it really realistic in a worldwith no actual superheroesno costumes and no secret identitiesbut everyone needs to make a totally normal personwith no knowledge of their own superpowerednesscause that is how the world is

The players all agree that that does, in fact, sound pretty cool and start making characters

Player 1 is a super hero geek at heart Player 1 also knows how to break superhero gamesPlayer 1 wants to make a teleporter/timetravellerGM says finebut his character has to be an overweight office workerPlayer 1 agrees as long as the character can also be AsianPlayer 1 thinks being Asian is super coolGM says fine

Player 2 hates comics cause comics are stupid and juvenileand aren’t nearly as cool as fantasy settingsPlayer 2 is also a rule mongerPlayer 2 picks the Power Mimic abilityGm says finebut his character is a male hospice nurse who has no idea how do use his powerPlayer 2 complains ALOTGM says deal with it and gives him some power bonuses like range and crap to shut him up

Player 3 is a veteran Vampire roleplayerPlayer 3 doesn't care what power he gets as long as he gets a lot of political influenceGM says fineGM rolls randomly on the Power Acquisition TablePlayer 3’s character is randomly assigned FlightPlayer 3 also wants a hot wife with a tragic flaw like a terminal disease or somethingGM gives him a wife who is crippledPlayer 3 makes sure that the wife is still really hot even though she is crippledGM assures Player 3 that she isPlayer 3 thinks it would be a great idea if it was his character’s fault that she was crippledand goes on and on about it to the point of absurdityGM tells Player 3 that that is a great idea just so he can move on

Player 4 totally wants to be a brick with super strengthand doesn’t care what kind of character he playsGM says finebut his character has to be a low income single mom with a mental illnessPlayer 4 gets pissed Player 4 threatens to quitPlayer 4 says if he has to play a crazy MILF then she has to be a stripper from VegasGM sighs and says fine

Player 5 is the GM's girlfriend and doesn't really know how to play or what kind of character to make but she is just so happy that she is being includedGM makes her a hot teenage cheerleader who is also ImmortalPlayer 1, 2, 3 and 4 exchange a glanceGM also gives her a NPC protector who is a secret agent bad ass who is also her dad Player 1, 2, 3 and 4 exchange another glance Gm secretly decides that the NPC protector is not really her dad just in case he can convince her to hook up with him in character at some pointGM loves the NPC protector character a whole bunch and although he doesn't have a name or backstory he is so seriously Boba Fett style cool that the GM decides that the NPC is going to know each of the characters and have a way to keep tabs on them with a near omnipotent knowledge and access to their lives

GM silently celebrates his cleverness

GM needs a bad guyGM takes some of the most broken powers in the book like Telekinesis and Cold Control plus the absurd Power Leech power with a ‘flaw’ that anyone subjected to the power immediately dies by having their brain sucked out or something and although this character is ridiculously overpowered and impossible to kill the GM is very pleased with himself and his ability to make interesting well rounded NPCs

Gm realizes too late that he really doesn't have any plot and that his characters are all starting out in different places around the world and don't know each other

GM panics and makes Player 2 and Player 3's characters related so that they can start in the same place

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Well, it is almost Thanksgiving and that reminded me of one of my favorite after school cartoons I used to watch as a kid: The Legendary Kung-Fu Warrior Turkeys. They were awesome in a way that I can only barely hint at here. Go find some old U-Tube clips. They will be worth the search. It was all 70's Kung-Fu movie action mixed with all the horrible stuff that I loved from the 80's. The villains were the best... Agrocult, Space Metal Heavies, The Gator Guard, Tsunami-man. Man, I loved that show. Sure there were stupid bits... like Rambozo and Teenage Keith Lu, but I still love it.

Here is a bit of fan art to rekindle those memories. Master Respendant Tailfeather was by favorite.

Obviously I haven't captured the exact look of the show here, but honestly, I always thought the cartoon was animated pretty poorly.

Here are some old fantasy/horror RPG illustrations I've done in the past.

This is a Illustration for the Promethian RPG done in my MILKING THE CRAP OUT OF ILLUSTRATOR phase. I am proud of what I could, in fact, milk out of the Illustrator program.

This is another Promethian Illustration. I love this sucker. It may not be my best illustration and the levels are all screwed up, but I love the look of this guy. If I played Promethian this would be me.This is a one of my favorite illustrations ever. It was for the Werewolf reboot. The idea was a pain spirit possessing a dumptruck. It is exactly how I saw it in my head. I can't tell you how rare that is.This is a Illustration done for the World of Warcraft RPG. At the time I was the only artist not actually working for Blizzard working on the game. On my imaginary artist badge sash of pride... you'll find this illustration.This is an excellent example of me using friends in my Illustration work. This is Eric Crews (guy with unfortunate chest carving) and David Fischer (ghost). I don't talk to either of them anymore but they will always exist for me like this... which is kinda weird and cool. Better than pictures. Also, that is real paint... which now a days is SUPER RARE for Stowe.